'F--- the NRA': Congressional candidate's profane ad goes to air

A Democratic congressional candidate in New Mexico used an expletive in a television ad to condemn the National Rifle Association and inaction by US lawmakers on gun control, beginning a 15-second spot with the words "F--- the NRA."

In the ad, Albuquerque City Council member and congressional candidate Pat Davis goes on the say that NRA policies have "resulted in dead children, dead mothers and dead fathers," and that "if Congress won't change our gun laws, we're changing Congress."

The ad was broadcast on KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, where General Manager Bill Anderson said the station was not permitted by law to censor or edit Davis' commercial and must provide equal access to candidates.

The station ran a brief warning about profanity immediately before the ad.

Jennifer Baker, a spokeswoman for the NRA, said Davis' profanity doesn't reflect a serious effort to address public safety concerns.

"We would hate to dignify this with a response because it's just crass language and a desperate attempt to get attention," Baker said.

Davis, a former Washington, D.C. police officer, is competing in a six-way race for the Democratic nomination for an open congressional seat based in Albuquerque.

The winner will face Republican Janice Arnold Jones and Libertarian Lloyd Princeton in the November general election. The congressional seat is open because U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham of Albuquerque is running for governor.

Debra Haaland, a former chairwoman of the state Democratic Party who is running against Davis, said in a statement that she also believes the NRA and the arms industry are responsible for preventable deaths and understands "the anger many people are expressing."

"I share it — even if I might use different words" than Davis, she said.